IDF Integrates Special Needs Soldiers

A foiled terror attack provides the inspiration for new levels of inclusion.

Imagine being an Israeli kid with Down Syndrome and dreaming one day of becoming a soldier in the IDF.

Imagine the parents dreaming to see this special child gain an independent life.

Now imagine this dream becoming reality.

As the video below shows, "Great in Uniform" is a project that integrates young people with disabilities into the IDF, as soldiers in every aspect including a uniform. The goal: to provide a successful path of integration into society.

It all started in 2001, when IDF Lt. Col. Ariel Almog was driving in the Jordan Valley and spotted a terrorist approaching a bus full of passengers. After a short struggle, Almog succeeded in neutralizing the terrorist, who was wearing three explosive devices.

Almog was shot in the head, but miraculously managed to neutralize the terrorist.

Then suddenly, shots were fired at Almog from a nearby olive grove. A "back-up" terrorist was there to assist in the planned carnage. Almog was shot in the head, but miraculously managed to fire his own weapon and neutralize the second terrorist as well.

While recuperating for months in the hospital, Almog was exposed to many injured people with disabilities. It was then he conceived of incorporating disabled teens into the IDF.

By working in IDF kitchens and supply depots, the project enables young men and women to preserve their human dignity, while gaining skills to contribute meaningfully to society. A team of psychologists and social workers accompany the soldiers throughout the program.

Featured at Aish.com:

About the Author

Rabbi Shraga Simmons grew up trekking through snow in Buffalo, New York, enjoying summers as a tour guide at Niagara Falls. He holds a degree in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin, and rabbinic ordination from the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem. He is the co-founder of Aish.com, and founder of the Torah study site, JewishPathways.com. He is also the co-founder of HonestReporting.com, and author of "David & Goliath", the definitive treatment of media bias against Israel (2012). He lives with his wife and children in the Modi'in region of Israel.

The opinions expressed in the comment section are the personal views of the commenters. Comments are moderated, so please keep it civil.

Visitor Comments: 10

(9)
Sharon Dodge,
May 18, 2016 6:04 PM

Bravo to IDF for this wonderful program.

This is a very heartening stry and I am proud of you all for intragrating these very special teens int the working force with the IDF. I love Israel and hope to live there some day. I will be there this fall and would love to help out and work with this special group.God Bless you all.Sharon

(8)
cindy graham,
July 14, 2014 4:58 AM

donating funds to the idf

I would love to find out how to send a financial donation to the idf, how would I go about doing this... please let me know.

(7)
Darrell,
May 22, 2014 3:15 AM

Seeing my handicap brothers and sisters.

I am one of thous invisible handicap people mine can't be seen but have me write something down without some kind of help, or dealing with others it has taken all of my 54 years to seam normal.So in watching this video it was like watching family as they are my brothers and sisters.I can see where Israel is doing thing for all it's people helping them become part of something more and not putting them to the side like they do here in the U.S.A.To be discarded like garbage, and treated so is to feel even more disable, but to see what they do in adding them and being an include and valued part is to feel worth.We as any kind of a person want to feel as part of something and worth something I don't need to say more.Now I need to think how do I get to Israel and join the IDF and do they take the over 50 crowd?

(6)
srah,
May 19, 2014 6:28 AM

kol ha kavod!

B"H!!

What an outstanding project!! KOL HA KAVOD!! TODAH RABA!!

(5)
Herb Fried,
May 19, 2014 1:11 AM

Incredible but not surprising

It is incredible that any country that faces such security concerns would have a program like this this but for people who know what Israel is all about it is not unexpected. Truly a light unto the nations.

(4)
Sarah Rivka :),
May 19, 2014 12:19 AM

Wow! The video brought tears to my eyes!

It's making me want to join the IDF myself!

I've worked with people with developmental disabilities and I think this is a great opportunity for such people in Israel to integrate into Israeli society!

(3)
cee,
May 18, 2014 11:50 PM

Very Touching

Mi KeAmcha YIsrael. Who is like your nation Israel- kind, compassionate, bravo State of Israel.

(2)
Dvirah,
May 18, 2014 4:19 PM

Great Idea!

I first became aware of this program when I saw, every Sunday and Thursday, what looked liked "disabled" soldiers in their uniforms riding the trains with me. Gradually from their conversation I learned that these were not soldiers who had been injured but special-needs soldiers riding to and from their bases just like all the others - and I am very proud of them and Zahal!

(1)
Gerard Fournier Sarasota Fl..USA,
May 18, 2014 3:22 PM

Best part of Israeli Intelligence.. Mossad and Special Gifted Teens

The very best part of why Israel was chosen to house and lead the rest of the world by it's compassion to include those who seek peace and prosperity with all of His Grace.

Raphaelle Do Lern Hwei,
May 21, 2014 6:14 AM

The US Navy and Singapore Armed Forces also involved in special education

I mentioned about my second brother who stayed in assisted living residence yesterday. The crew of a US Navy aircraft carrier and 2 units of the Singapore Armed Forces were at Mindsville, Loring Napir where my brother stayed between 2008 and 2011. There are no vacancies for my bro at present. So IDF is one option - he gets to go overseas.

I've been striving to get more into spirituality. But it seems that every time I make some progress, I find myself slipping right back to where I started. I'm getting discouraged and feel like a failure. Can you help?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

Spiritual slumps are a natural part of spiritual growth. There is a cycle that people go through when at times they feel closer to God and at times more distant. In the words of the Kabbalists, it is "two steps forward and one step back." So although you feel you are slipping, know that this is a natural process. The main thing is to look at your overall progress (over months or years) and be able to see how far you've come!

This is actually God's ingenious way of motivating us further. The sages compare this to teaching a baby how to walk. When the parent is holding on, the baby shrieks with delight and is under the illusion that he knows how to walk. Yet suddenly, when the parent lets go, the child panics, wobbles and may even fall.

At such times when we feel spiritually "down," that is often because God is letting go, giving us the great gift of independence. In some ways, these are the times when we can actually grow the most. For if we can move ourselves just a little bit forward, we truly acquire a level of sanctity that is ours forever.

Here is a practical tool to help pull you out of the doldrums. The Sefer HaChinuch speaks about a great principle in spiritual growth: "The external awakens the internal." This means that although we may not experience immediate feelings of closeness to God, eventually, by continuing to conduct ourselves in such a manner, this physical behavior will have an impact on our spiritual selves and will help us succeed. (A similar idea is discussed by psychologists who say: "Smile and you will feel happy.")

That is the power of Torah commandments. Even if we may not feel like giving charity or praying at this particular moment, by having a "mitzvah" obligation to do so, we are in a framework to become inspired. At that point we can infuse that act of charity or prayer with all the meaning and lift it can provide. But if we'd wait until being inspired, we might be waiting a very long time.

May the Almighty bless you with the clarity to see your progress, and may you do so with joy.

In 1940, a boatload 1,600 Jewish immigrants fleeing Hitler's ovens was denied entry into the port of Haifa; the British deported them to the island of Mauritius. At the time, the British had acceded to Arab demands and restricted Jewish immigration into Palestine. The urgent plight of European Jewry generated an "illegal" immigration movement, but the British were vigilant in denying entry. Some ships, such as the Struma, sunk and their hundreds of passengers killed.

If you seize too much, you are left with nothing. If you take less, you may retain it (Rosh Hashanah 4b).

Sometimes our appetites are insatiable; more accurately, we act as though they were insatiable. The Midrash states that a person may never be satisfied. "If he has one hundred, he wants two hundred. If he gets two hundred, he wants four hundred" (Koheles Rabbah 1:34). How often have we seen people whose insatiable desire for material wealth resulted in their losing everything, much like the gambler whose constant urge to win results in total loss.

People's bodies are finite, and their actual needs are limited. The endless pursuit for more wealth than they can use is nothing more than an elusive belief that they can live forever (Psalms 49:10).

The one part of us which is indeed infinite is our neshamah (soul), which, being of Divine origin, can crave and achieve infinity and eternity, and such craving is characteristic of spiritual growth.

How strange that we tend to give the body much more than it can possibly handle, and the neshamah so much less than it needs!